Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I went to three different markets before I finally found a head of cauliflower I could buy. And, all the while I kept thinking "who the hell is buying all the cauliflower in Sunset Park?!". Then, I freaked out a little because I thought cauliflower season might have ended. What? Wait, no. Cauliflower season is all year long. So then I went back to thinking, "who the hell is buying up all the damn cauliflower?!".

As you might of been able to tell, I had a craving. And I was going to be highly upset if I didn't end up finding any cauliflower because I wanted pizza. Yes, that is right pizza. It's one of my favorite sin foods. A sin food being a type of food that you know is not healthy, it's not going to help you loose weight, you'll absolutely love it while you're eating it and, then feel like shit when you enter it into your food diary and realize how many fucking burpees you have to do to burn it off. Sin food. 

But, I had remembered that my Big had made me a pizza once with a cauliflower crust. So that's what I intended to do. I already knew what toppings I was adding and everything. I was really simply tasting the deliciousness in my mouth. A healthy pizza!


Ingredients 

• One cauliflower head
• 1/2 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 
• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 
• Salt & Pepper to taste 

Directions 

Okay, so this recipe is suuupeerrrr easy. The hardest part is just dealing with the cauliflower. I take the head and chop up the florets. The pieces I make a a bit big and coarse. It makes dealing with the cauliflower a lot easier. I take the chopped cauliflower and I steam it. If you don't have a steamer you can boil and drain it. However, the less water content that's in the cauliflower the crispier it will get. After steaming the vegetable I place it in the blender. This is the part where having a food processor would be ideal but, I don't have one. Anyways, I pulse the mixer so the consistency of the puree isn't too smooth. After its done I dump the puree of cauliflower in a bowl and mix the rest of the ingredients. Mix, mix, mix. That's it! Prep time is done. I place my prepped cauliflower crust in a flat tray (I use a cookie tray!) and place a thin layer on it. Leave it in the oven for 15min at 450*F. Done. Simple! If it's still a bit mushy lower the heat to 350*F and leave for a little while longer.

I topped my pizza with chipotle chicken, sweet peppers and tons of mushrooms. I pre-cook all the ingredients because I don't want to leave the cauliflower in the oven for too long. So, I sauteed the chicken in chipotle sauce on the stove and grilled the mushrooms and peppers on the George Foreman grill. I sprinkled a bit more cheese on top so it can melt while in the oven. But, really it didn't need it. The cauliflower crust had a nice taste with the cheese it already had. 

Funny story 

I introduced my little brother to an amazing app called MyFitnessPal. I use it religiously and it's helped me be conscience of my eating and exercise habits. As I know he wants to loose weight I told him to insert what he eats and when he goes to the gym in the app. He downloads it, says he'll use it, cool. One day I see that he walks into the apartment with a box of pizza. He had ordered Dominos pizza at 10:30 pm! When he came out of his room, like the sister I am, I go up to him and ask, "Do you know how many calories are in one slice?". No, he didn't (and neither did I). I took his phone, opened up MyFitnessPal and started adding to his food log: 

Dominos medium pizza 

Pepperoni topping 

Bacon topping 

Extra cheese topping 

One slice (one itty bitty slice) was 320 calories. And I told him One itty bitty slice. When I told him this, the little brat kindly remarks, "oh that's a lot. Put down that I ate four slices." 

Ha! Oh goodness.
Well, I hope you guys enjoy this healthy alternative.




Buen provecho.
<3 Mariela